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Article
Chemical Composition and Determination of the
Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils in Liquid and
Vapor Phases Extracted from Two Different
Southeast Asian Herbs—Houttuynia cordata
(Saururaceae) and Persicaria odorata (Polygonaceae)
Kristýna Řebíčková 1, Tomáš Bajer 1, David Šilha 2, Markéta Houdková 3, Karel Ventura 1
and Petra Bajerová 1,*
1 Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice,
Studentská 573, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic; kristyna.rebickova@student.upce.cz (K.Ř.);
tomas.bajer@upce.cz (T.B.); karel.ventura@upce.cz (K.V.)
2 Department of Biological and Biochemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemical Technology,
University of Pardubice, Studentská 573, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic; david.silha@upce.cz
3 Department of Crop Sciences and Agroforestry, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Kamýcká 129,
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; houdkovam@ftz.czu.cz
* Correspondence: petra.bajerova@upce.cz; Tel.: +420‐466‐037‐078
Academic Editor: Derek J. McPhee
Received: 30 April 2020; Accepted: 20 May 2020; Published: 22 May 2020
Abstract: Essential oils obtained via the hydrodistillation of two Asian herbs (Houttuynia cordata and
Persicaria odorata) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS)
and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC–FID). Additionally, both the liquid
and vapor phase of essential oil were tested on antimicrobial activity using the broth microdilution
volatilization method. Antimicrobial activity was tested on Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive
bacteria—Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis,
Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Seratia marcescense and Bacillus subtilis.
Hydrodistillation produced a yield of 0.34% (Houttuynia cordata) and 0.40% (Persicaria odorata). 41
compounds were identified in both essential oils. Essential oils contained monoterpenes and their
oxidized forms, sesquiterpenes and their oxidized forms, oxidized diterpenes, derivates of
phenylpropene and other groups, such as, for example, aldehydes, alcohols or fatty acids. Both
essential oils were antimicrobial active in both vapor and liquid phases at least in case of one
bacterium. They expressed various antimicrobial activity in the range of 128–1024 μg∙mL−1, 512–
1024 μg∙mL−1 in broth and 1024 μg∙mL−1, 512–1024 μg∙mL−1 in agar, respectively. Research showed
new interesting information about P. odorata and H. cordata essential oils and demonstrated that both
essential oils could be possibly used in the field of natural medicine or natural food preservation.
Keywords: Houttuynia cordata; Persicaria odorata; essential oil; distillation; antimicrobial activity;
vapor phase; volatile compounds; gas chromatography.
1. Introduction
In recent years, many researchers have been focused on finding new antimicrobial agents that
could be applied to multi‐resistant microorganisms. Medicinal herbs and their products, such as
essential oils (EOs), are the main source of natural remedies. They have been used since the time
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432; doi:10.3390/molecules25102432 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432 2 of 11
immemorial as the most affordable means of treating diseases. As it has been proven several times,
EOs have diverse biological properties. They are bactericidal, viricidal, fungicidal, antiparasitic,
antioxidant and insecticidal [1–3]. EOs and their components have activity against a variety of targets,
particularly the membrane and cytoplasm, and, in some cases, they can completely change the
morphology of the cells [4]. They contain a wide range of complex and structurally different
compounds that are biologically, respectively, antimicrobially active. Antimicrobial activity is closely
related to the chemical composition of EOs, functional groups and possible synergic interactions
among constituents. In addition, due to the combination of these active compounds, bacteria are more
difficult to develop a resistance to these compounds in comparison with commercial antimicrobials,
which are usually based on one chemical substance [5]. In order to use EOs for treating various
diseases caused by bacteria, it is important to understand to the relationship between their chemical
composition and the potential antimicrobial activity.
EOs are volatile, and their vapors influence their antimicrobial properties. Therefore, it is
necessary to sufficiently investigate the composition and properties of the vapors of essential oil.
Currently, several researchers have investigated the vapor phase of the essential oil, but it deserves
much wider research and consideration when examining the properties of essential oils [6–12]. It is
assumed that active compounds in both phases are synergic and furthermore it has been shown that
vapor phase is sometimes even more effective than liquid phase to some microorganisms. If
biologically active molecules were present in the vapor phase, there would be, for example, the
possibility of using EOs for the inhalation and treatment of respiratory diseases [8,9]. Furthermore,
there would be the possibility of using these properties of EOs to produce various food packaging
materials that protect food against the spread of microorganisms and extend their shelf life [13–15].
Traditionally, agar dilution, broth dilution or broth microdilution methods have been used to
measure the minimal inhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial agents against microorganisms
[16,17]. Unfortunately, these methods have been limited to measuring the minimal inhibitory
concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobials only in the liquid phase. In the last few years, several
methods and the modification‐testing MICs of antimicrobials in the vapor phase were developed.
Usually, the disc volatilization method with various modifications is used [10–12,17,18].
Two Southeast Asian herbs (Houttuynia cordata and Persicaria odorata), used mainly in the
traditional Chinese medicine and as a spice in Asian cuisine, have been chosen for this study. These
two herbs have been chosen for their known health benefits from Chinese medicine and for their
geographical occurrence. Moreover, there is a lack of scientific literature about Houttuynia cordata [19–
24] and Persicaria odorata [25,26] EOs. Therefore, they were examined in more detail. Houttuynia
cordata, also known as a fish mint, belongs to a family Saururaceae. It is a flowering perennial herb
native to Southeast Asia and it grows in moist shady places [27]. EOs from H. cordata have a fishy
scent and show a variety of biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antiviral, anti‐inflammatory,
anticancer and insect repellent [28]. According to the previous reports, the liquid phase of EOs from
H. cordata has inhibitory effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus
subtilis, Vibrio cholerae and Staphylococcus aureus [21,29]. The dominant volatile compounds are
houttuynin, myrcene, decanal, cis‐ocimene and bornyl acetate [27,28,30]. Persicaria odorata, also
known as a Vietnamese coriander, belongs to a family Polygonaceae. It is a tender perennial herb native
to Southeast Asia and it grows in wet environments with a rich, moist soil shady places [25]. EOs
isolated from P. odorata have a very strong coriander odor and show antimicrobial, anti‐
inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant activity. According to the previous reports, the liquid phase
of essential oil from P. odorata inhibits Salmonella choleraesuis [31], Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus
faecium, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus [32]. The most abundant volatile
compounds are dodecanal, decanal, 3‐hexanal, 2‐hexanal, β‐caryophyllene and α‐humulene
[25,26,33,34].
Due to the growing demand for natural products and in light of the prevalence of
pharmaceuticals, antioxidants or food additives in the food preservation process, it is necessary to
find new sources for developing these products and to specify their properties. Plant‐derived
essential oils have received significant attention in this field. The aim of this study was to find herbs
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432 3 of 11
used both in the cuisine and natural medicine and determine their EOs composition and especially
their antimicrobial efficiency in both vapor and liquid phase. In this study were two EOs obtained by
hydrodistillation and thereafter analyzed by standard techniques GC–MS and GC–FID.
Antimicrobial activity was determined by the modern, recently developed method of Houdkova et
al. [35] called the broth microdilution volatilization method. It is a simple and rapid simultaneous
determination of the antibacterial potential of plant volatile compounds in the liquid and the vapor
phase at different concentrations [35].
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. Extraction Yield and Chemical Composition
Hydrodistillation in the Clevenger‐type apparatus of Houttuynia cordata produced a pale‐yellow
liquid with a fishy scent. The essential oil content of distilled aerial parts of dried plant was 0.34%.
The extraction yield is higher in comparison with those previously published by R. S. Verma et al.
[24] who only achieved a yield of 0.06–0.14%. A total of 41 compounds were identified that made up
90.6% of the essential oil composition (Table 1). The essential oil contained a higher amount of
terpenoid compounds (75.5%), followed by non‐terpenoid compounds (15.1%), such as derivates of
phenylpropene, aldehydes, ketones, esters and fatty acids. The major group of substances was
monoterpenes with a content of 59.4%, followed by the group of other compounds with a content of
14.8%, oxidized monoterpenes with a content of 7.2% and sesquiterpenes with a content of 6.6%.
Other groups were oxidized sesquiterpenes and derivates of phenylpropene. Major compounds of
the essential oil were myrcene (51.6%), 2‐undecanone (6.7%), tridecan‐2‐one (6.1%), cis‐β‐ocimene
(5.7%), geranyl acetate (3.1%), bornyl acetate (2.9%) and cis‐caryophyllene (2.6%). The other
compounds were present at less than 2%. These results are similar with the results of previous reports
[19,22,24]. Only a few fluctuations from other reports were found and are probably attributed to the
origin of the plant samples or different extraction method. For the characteristic fishy scent and
flavoring of H. cordata essential oils is responsible compound houttuynin (decanoyl acetaldehyde).
This compound was not identified in our essential oil due to its instability. It is usual that decanoyl
acetaldehyde is during the process of distillation easily oxidized into 2‐undecanone [24]. This
compound had the second highest concentration in our essential oil. Therefore, the amount of 2‐
undecanone is the primary indicator for the quality of Houttuynia cordata essential oil [23,24].
Table 1. Chemical composition of essential oils from Houttuynia cordata and Persicaria odorata.
ofNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [36] and Adams [37].
Hydrodistillation in Clevenger‐type apparatus of Persicaria odorata produced a deep yellow
liquid with a strong spicy coriander‐like aroma. Due to its aroma, it is also called Vietnamese
coriander [25]. The essential oil content of distilled aerial parts of dried plant was 0.41%. The
extraction yield is lower in comparison with those previously published by A. A. Almarie et al. [33]
who achieved a yield of 0.64%. A total of 41 compounds were identified that made up 90.4% of the
essential oil composition. In comparison with other reports, we identified more compounds [38,39].
N. X. Dung et al. [38] used steam distillation for the isolation of essential oils and they identified 28
compounds and the most abundant were β‐caryophyllene, dodecanal and caryophyllene oxide. M.
V. Hunter et al. [39] only identified 17 compounds using steam distillation as an extraction technique
for the isolation of essential oil from P. odorata, where the most abundant compounds were α‐
humulene, decanal and dodecanal. Our essential oil contained a higher amount of non‐terpenoid
compounds (72.7%) followed by terpenoid compounds (17.7%). Carbonyls and alcohols, especially
C10 and C12, made up 68.8% of essential oil composition, followed by the group of sesquiterpenes
with a content of 11.5% and oxidized sesquiterpenes with a content of 5.7%. Other groups
(monoterpenes, oxidized monoterpenes and oxidized diterpenes) made up less than 1% of essential
oil constitution. The major compounds of the essential oil were n‐dodecanal (37.1%), n‐decanal
(18.1%), 1‐decanol (5.4%), 1‐dodecanol (4.8%), α‐humulene (4.5%), cis‐caryophyllene (3.9%) and n‐
undecane (2.5%). The other compounds were present at less than 2%. These results in relative percent
content are similar with the results of previous reports. It can clearly be seen that the essential oil
from Persicaria odorata is rich in C10 and C12 carbonyls. Dodecanal and decanal are the main
compounds of Persicaria odorata essential oil in all previous published reports and ours [25,33,38,39].
When comparing both EOs, it was found that they have only 12 common compounds out of 41
but they vary in the percent content. The essential oil from Hottuynia cordata contained much more
monoterpenes and monoterpenoids, where the most abundant compound was myrcene (51%) that
was not found in the essential oil from the P. odorata. On the other hand, the essential oil from
Persicaria odorata contained more sesquiterpenes, sesquipterpenoids and especially aldehydes, where
n‐dodecanal (37.1%) was the dominant compound compared to H. cordata essential oil, where it was
only 0.02%. In general, the composition of both essential oils is different. The results are adequate
because both herbs are neither from the same genus nor family, so their similarity in composition
was not expected. They were selected for this study according to their similar use and same
geographical occurrence.
2.2. Antimicrobial Activity
The antimicrobial activity of H. cordata and P. odorata essential oils is reported in Table 2. Both
EOs showed antimicrobial efficiency but in different concentrations. H. cordata and P. odorata essential
oil expressed various antimicrobial activity in the range of 128–1024 μg∙mL−1, 512–1024 μg∙mL−1 in
broth and 1024 μg∙mL−1, 512–1024 μg∙mL−1 in agar, respectively. In the liquid phase, the lowest MIC
was showed for H. cordata (128 μg∙mL−1) against E. faecalis and for P. odorata (512 μg∙mL−1) against S.
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pyogenes, E. faecalis and B. subtilis. In the vapor phase, the lowest MIC was observed for H. cordata
(1024 μg∙mL−1) against E. faecalis and E. coli and for P. odorata (512 μg∙mL−1) against E. coli. There are
observable differences between the efficiency of the vapor and liquid phases of observed essential
oils (EOs). In most cases, the higher MIC reached the liquid phase, except in the case of EOs from P.
odorata on E. coli, where the vapor phase was twice as effective as the liquid phase.
In general, Gram‐negative bacteria are more resistant to EOs than Gram‐positive bacteria [40].
This is supported by our results because, as it is shown in Table 2, Gram‐positive bacteria were more
sensitive to tested EOs in comparison with Gram‐negative bacteria. It is possible that active
compounds in EOs can more easily break important bonds (peptidoglycan) in the cell wall structure
of Gram‐positive bacteria. The structure of the Gram‐positive bacteria cell wall allows hydrophobic
molecules to easily penetrate the cells and act on both the cell wall and within the cytoplasm. After
the cell wall is broken, the reactive constituents of the essential oil can penetrate the interior of the
cell and further damage its DNA. The other fact is that phenolic compounds, which are also present
in the EOs, generally show antimicrobial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria. On the other hand,
the cell wall of Gram‐negative bacteria is far more complex, and it is, among other reasons, why they
are more resistant to biologically active compounds (EOs) [4].
Table 2. Antimicrobial activity of tested essential oils and antibiotic ampicillin against Gram‐negative
and Gram‐positive bacteria.
Sample/Growth/MIC (μg∙mL−1)
Bacterium Houttuynia cordata Persicaria odorata Ampicillin
Agar Broth Agar Broth Agar Broth
Gram negative
Escherichia coli 1024 512 512 1024 >4 0.50
Pseudomonas aeruginosa >1024 >1024 >1024 1024 >4 1.00
Klebsiella pneumoniae >1024 1024 >1024 1024 >4 >4.00
Serratia marcescens >1024 1024 >1024 >1024 >4 4.00
Gram positive
Staphylococcus aureus >1024 1024 >1024 >1024 >4 0.50
Enterococcus faecalis 1024 128 >1024 512 >4 0.25
Streptococcus pyogenes >1024 512 1024 512 >4 1.00
Bacillus subtilis >1024 >1024 >1024 512 >4 2.00
The most abundant compound in H. cordata essential oil is myrcene. Myrcene has an
antimicrobial activity and moreover enhances the activity of antibiotics [41]. EOs with a high content
of myrcene have a positive effect on urinary and genital infections [42,43]. These infections may be
caused among others by E. coli and E. faecalis; therefore, we could assume that EOs from H. cordata
will affect them, which has been confirmed in this study. The most abundant compound in P. odorata
essential oil was α‐humulene, which is known for its anti‐inflammatory effect. It is well known that
EOs with α‐humulene are natural antimicrobial agents [44–46]. Pichette et al. [46] have tested the
antimicrobial activity of α‐humulene against E. coli and S. aureus using the microdillution method. α‐
humulene exhibited an MIC of 2.6 μg∙mL−1 against S. aureus and an MIC of more than 20 μg∙mL−1
against E. coli. Jang et al. [45] have tested the antimicrobial activity of α‐humulene against B. fragilis
and obtained MIC of 0.5 μg∙mL−1. The high content of α‐humulene could be the reason why P. odorata
EOs inhibited the growth of six from eight tested bacteria. On the other hand, there is one possible
disadvantage when using these oils orally or internally, which is possible irritation or allergy caused
by cis‐caryophyllene, which both EOs contains [47]. It would be necessary to further examine the
negative effect of each compound in the essential oil on the human body before using it for treating
illness.
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432 7 of 11
As far as authors know, there are no previous reports about Persicaria odorata and Houttuynia
cordata essential oils and its antimicrobial activity in the vapor phase, so it is not possible to further
compare those results with other publications. However, there are some reports about testing the
liquid phase of EOs from Houttuynia cordata. Verma et al. [24] tested the antimicrobial activity of the
essential oil from Houttuynia cordata against four bacteria (Staphylococcus aures, Streptococcus mutans,
Mycobacterium smegmatis and Enteroccocus faecalis). Their essential oil exhibited MIC in the range of
0.52–1.04 μL∙mL−1. Ji et al. [20] performed a disc diffusion test to determine antimicrobial activity of
H. cordata essential oil against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus; unfortunately,
the disc diffusion test is only a screening method, which is not possible to compare with MIC. Lu et
al. [22] tested the antimicrobial activity of H. cordata EOs against Staphylococcus aureus and Sarcina
ureae using the broth and agar dilution method. Their reached minimal inhibitory concentration was
in the range of 0.5–1.0 μL∙mL−1.
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Plant Material
Approximately 120 g of fresh Chinese herbs (H. cordata and P. odorata) was purchased in a local
Vietnamese market (TTTM Sapa, Prague, Czech Republic). Each sample was air dried in a dark room
at the laboratory’s temperature. Prior to the distillation, both herbs, including leaves and stems, were
crushed into smaller pieces.
3.2. Essential Oil Isolation
Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation using Clevenger‐type apparatus. The EOs was
prepared as follows: 26.7 g (H. cordata) or 18.4 g (P. odorata) of dried herb was weighted into a 2000
mL distillation flask, 1000 mL of water was added and the EOs was distilled for 4 h. The essential oil
was then separated from hydrosol and stored in sealed dark‐glass vials at 4 °C until the analysis.
3.3. Bacterial Strains and Culture Media
Four Gram‐negative and four Gram‐positive bacteria that caused respiratory infections,
including upper and lower airway diseases, were chosen. Standard strains were used for the
experiment: Escherichia coli CCM 3954, Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 3955, Klebsiella pneumoniae
NPK12, Serratia marcescens CCM 303, Staphylococcus aureus CCM 4223, Enterococcus faecalis CCM 4224,
Streptococcus pyogenes NPK01 and Bacillus subtilis CCM 2215. All standard strains were purchased
from Czech Collection of Microorganisms (CCM), Brno, Czech Republic. Bacteria were incubated at
37 °C for 24 h. Prior to the experiment, bacterial suspensions with turbidity according to the
McFarland scale were prepared corresponding to the grade 0.5 (~1.5 × 108 CFU∙mL−1). The cultivation
and assay media were Mueller‐Hinton (agar and broth; Himedia, India). The pH of the broth was
adjusted to a final value of 7.6 using Trizma base and hydrochloric acid (both Himedia, India).
Ampicilin (St. Louis, MO, USA) was used as a positive antibiotic control.
3.4. Antimicrobial Activity Assay
The antimicrobial activity of the liquid and vapor phase of Eos was determined by the broth
microdilution volatilization method [35]. The experiments were carried out in 96‐well microtiter
plates with one well volume of 400 μL. The test is designed for the testing of 6 essential oils in total.
For this study, we tested only 2 essential oils, and different samples were in other wells. The plates
were covered with wooden plates and clamped to prevent vapor phase leakage. The edge wells were
left blank to avoid the edge effect. First, essential oil samples were prepared as follows: approximately
2 μL of EOs was added to corresponding amount of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at a concentration
of 1%, then further diluted in the corresponding broth to initial concentration. Then, the antibiotic
was prepared at an initial concentration of 4 μg∙mL−1. In the first part of the experiment, 30 μL of agar
was pipetted onto the plate lid and inoculated with 5 μL of bacterial suspension for vapor phase
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432 8 of 11
testing. In the second part (liquid phase assay), 100 μL of buffered Mueller‐Hinton broth was pipetted
into the wells. Each well had a final volume of 100 μL. Seven two‐fold diluted concentrations of
samples starting at a concentration of 1024 μg∙mL−1 were prepared for each essential oil in one row.
A positive and negative control of bacterial growth was prepared in the first two columns. In the last
column, 6 two‐fold diluted concentrations of antibiotic starting at 4 μg∙mL−1 were prepared. Finally,
all wells except the negative control were inoculated with 5 μL of bacterial suspension. Plates were
closed, fixed and incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. After incubation, minimal inhibitory concentrations of
EOs were evaluated by the visual assessment of bacterial growth after the coloring of a metabolically
active bacterial colony with thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide dye (MTT; Sigma Aldrich, Prague,
Czech Republic). A total of 25 μL of 600 μg∙mL−1 dye was applied to the lid and each well of the plate
and equilibrated for 10 min. The color changed from yellow (dead cells) to purple (live cells).
Thereafter, the MICs were recorded. All experiments were performed in triplicate in three
independent experiments. The results were expressed as the median of minimal inhibition
concentration of the antimicrobial agent values.
3.5. GC–MS Analysis
The GC–MS analysis of samples was carried out by using a Gas Chromatograph GC 2010
coupled to a Mass Selective Detector GCMS‐QP2010 Plus (both Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) and Combi
Pal Autosampler (CTC Analytics, AG, Zwingen, Swizerland) on a capillary column SLB‐5ms Supelco
(30 m × 0.25 mm, 2.5 μm film thickness; Bellefonte, PA, USA). The carrier gas was Helium 5.0 (Linde,
Prague, Czech Republic) with a constant flow of 30 cm∙s−1. The oven temperature program was set at
an initial temperature of 40 °C for 3 min, then heated up to 250 °C at 2 °C∙min−1 and held at 250 °C for
10 min. The injector and detector temperatures were set at 200 °C. The mass spectrometry detector
was operated under electron ionization mode at ionization energy of 70 eV when ions with m/z 33–
500 were scanned. A total of 1 μL of diluted essential oil (200 times, n‐hexane) was injected with a
split ratio 1:50. The experimental results of retention indices were calculated relative to C8–C33 n‐
alkanes in concentrations of 100–200 μg∙mL−1, dissolved in n‐hexane (Restek, Bellefonte, PA, USA).
The calculation was performed according to the van den Dool and Kratz method, and the results
were further compared to published data [36,37]. Compounds were identified by comparing their
mass spectra with mass spectra of several standards (Table 1) and commercial mass spectral
databases NIST’14 Mass Spectral Library and FFNSC 2 GC/MS Library Release 2.0 (Flavor and
Fragrance Natural and Synthetic Compounds Library) and further checked out by manual mass
spectra evaluation.
3.6. GC–FID Analysis
The GC–FID analysis of samples was carried out by using a Gas Chromatograph GC 2010 with
a flame ionization detector (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) and Autosampler Combi Pal (CTC Analytics,
AG, Zwingen, Swizerland) on a capillary column SLB‐5ms Supelco (30 m × 0.25 mm, 2.5 μm film
thickness; Bellefonte, PA, USA). The GC–FID conditions were the same as in case of GC–MS analysis.
The injector temperature was set at 200 °C and the detector temperature was set at 260 °C. A total of
1 μL of diluted essential oil (200 times, n‐hexane) was injected with a split ratio 1:50. As in the case of
GC–MS, experimental retention indices were calculated and compared to published data.
4. Conclusions
This study shows new interesting knowledge about EOs distilled from two Asian herbs—
Persicaria odorata and Houttuynia cordata. The chemical composition of EOs corresponds to previous
studies with a minor deviation that may be caused by agronomic factors, sample storage or sample
preparation and other factors. Both EOs showed antimicrobial activity in different concentrations to
different bacteria. Due to great antibacterial activity, along with the composition of Eos, we see a
great potential for future usages of these oils, such as natural antimicrobials or food preservatives.
As far as we know, we were the first to describe the antimicrobial properties of those EOs in both
Molecules 2020, 25, 2432 9 of 11
vapor and liquid phases on eight selected bacteria. Furthermore, it is necessary to study the possible
cytotoxicity of these oils. The disadvantage is that both oils contain cis‐caryophyllene that causes
allergic reactions and skin irritation. It would be necessary to find the balance in concentrations of
beneficial antimicrobial active compounds and potentially toxic compounds.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, K.Ř. and T.B.; methodology, T.B. and M.H.; formal analysis, K.Ř..;
investigation, K.Ř.; resources, K.Ř.; writing—original draft preparation, K.Ř.; writing—review and editing, P.B.;
T.B. and D.Š.; supervision, K.V.; project administration, P.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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